The Dragoon

This Dragoon Prestige class is based loosely off both Chris's Dragoon class from 2nd edition AD&D as well as the Dragoons from Final Fantasy II (IV) and V. The parts taken from the former are the idea of a patron dragon as well as having a dragon mount at 10th level. The parts taken from the latter are the jump ability (Improved Spring Attack now), as well as the Dragoons being a sort of knighthood.

The Dragoon is a knight who pledges his service to a dragon. He is the inverse of the Dragon Slayers of legend in that he defends the honour of a dragon by fighting it's enemies in it's name. Due to the fact their enemies are aerial in nature, Dragoons are skilled at aerial combat. They have a fearsome aerial strike ability that they use to attack their enemies. In addition, Dragoons are trained in using heavy armors to their advantage, they can move around much better in them than most. This is because they must be heavily armored to survive their battles with their draconic enemies. Dragoons are also trained in hunting the draconic enemies of their patrons. A person must first meet certain requirements to become Dragoons. They must swear absolute loyalty to a patron dragon that they choose that also accepts them. They are then trained by their patron dragon in how to fight their enemies. Once their training is complete, they must then quest in the service of the patron dragon. If they prove themselves, then they are pronounced a Dragoon by their patron dragon. Dragoons must follow their patron dragon's wishes at all times, failure to do so will cause them to invoke the wrath of their dragon master and they may not rise in level as a Dragoon until they atone (if they aren't dead). A Dragoon can never stray from the alignment of their patron dragon, if they do so they will be unable to advance as a Dragoon and they may not use any of their class abilities until they atone. Some Dragoons pass their training (with their patron's will of course) onto further generations. Some nations have agreements with dragons to keep a unit or two of Dragoons in their service for the protection of both the dragon and the nation, but this is rare. Sometimes, Bahamut or Tiamat picks a person to become destined to be a Dragoon before birth. These Dragoons are born with a birthmark of a dragon somewhere on their body, in the colour of the dragon they are to be a patron to. Also, their hair or eyes are that of their dragon patron's colours (Silver dragon, silver eyes or hair; etc). Both the patron dragon (also chosen from birth by Bahamut or Tiamat) and the Dragoon feel a call of sorts to each other, and as a result they are destined to cross paths at least once.

Hit Dice: d10

Requirements
Alignment: Any that coincides with favored Dragon.
Base Attack Bonus +5
Skills: Jump 8 ranks, Speak Language Draconic 1 rank
Feats: Heavy Armor Proficiency, Weapon Proficiency (Halfspear or Shortspear, depending on size), Skill Focus (Jump), and Spring Attack.

Class Skills (4+Int mod/level)
Climb (Str) Ride (Dex) Craft (Int) Search (Int) Hide (Dex) Spot (Wis) Intuit Direction (Wis) Swim (Str) Jump (Str) Use Rope (Dex) Listen (Wis) Wilderness Lore (Wis) Move Silently (Wis)

Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Dragoon is proficient in all Simple weapons as well as the following Martial weapons: Light Lance, Heavy Lance, Longsword, Trident, Glaive, Guisarme, Halberd, Longspear, and Ranseur. The Dragoon is also proficient in Light, Medium, and Heavy armors. The Dragoon is also proficient with Shields.

Draconic Favored Enemy: The Dragoon, being a Dragon Knight, must fight against his patron dragon's enemies. Thus, he gets a favored enemy (as per the favored enemy rules for rangers (PHB p45). This depends on his patron dragon. If the Dragoon's patron dragon is metallic, all of his favored enemies must be chromatic dragons, and vice versa. If the Dragoon's patron dragon is a gem dragon, he may choose a chromatic dragon as his favored enemy. Every time the Dragoon gets to choose this ability, he picks a new dragon, as per the ranger favored enemy rules.

Improved Spring Attack: Springing counts as a full round action. A Dragoon's spring attack allows him to deal more damage if he is using a medium or large piercing weapon, through jumping onto his opponent. At level 3, he gets a +1d6 to his damage as well as the ability to do a Spring Attack in heavy armor. At level 6, he gets a +2d6 to his damage and his range for his spring attack improves to his total movement rate +10 feet. At level 9, he gets a +3d6 to his damage and his range for his spring attack improves to his total movement rate +20 feet. For example, Kain, a 10th level Dragoon, can spring 50' (base 30' +20' for his level) in total, so he can jump 25' to his enemy and 25' back to where he was standing, doing a total of 1d8+3d6 damage with his shortspear.

Max Dex Bonus: Dragoons can move around much easier in heavy armor, thus they get a higher ceiling for their Max Dexterity Bonus. This starts at a +2 ceiling bonus to their Max Dex Bonus when wearing armor of any type. This bonus improves by 1 at every three levels (2nd, 5th, 8th). For example, Kain, a 6th level Dragoon with 18 dexterity (+4) wearing full plate, gets his entire dexterity bonus while wearing the armor, making him a formidable foe (AC 22).

Summon Dragon: At 10th level Dragoons get to summon a young dragon as a mount. This dragon must be of the Dragoon's patron dragon type. Like a paladin's connection to their mount, Dragoons have a connection with theirs, they follow the rules detailed under Empathic Link and Share Saving Throws (PHB p43). Otherwise, the Dragon is unexceptional.